Midnight Rose
by KiwiKagome
Summary: Love blooms in Sabertail, but more so between the dragon slayers inside. Nina Eucliffe, First Guildmaster of Sabertail, and her guild enter a new era together. And a new era brings new unknowns! [[Sequel to The Shadow's Light]]
1. Prologue

**So, I hope you're ready for a sequel! Cause here it is. I wanted to start this long after ending the other~ Hope you'll like it!**

**Midnight Rose**

**Love blooms in Sabertail, but more so between the dragon slayers inside. Nina Eucliffe, First Guildmaster of Sabertail, and her guild enter a new era together. And a new era brings new unknowns!**

**Pairings:**

**Nina x Sting**  
** Yukino x Rogue**  
** Lucy x Natsu**  
** Mirajane x Laxus**  
** Levy x Gajeel**  
** Romeo x Wendy**  
** Kinana x Erik**


	2. Bright Pride

**Love blooms in Sabertail, but more so between the dragon slayers inside. Nina Eucliffe, First Guildmaster of Sabertail, and her guild enter a new era together. And a new era brings new unknowns!**

**Bright Pride**

* * *

Birds were chirping and sunlight streamed into a window, glowing slightly on the figures in bed, raven black hair covering the face of one figure while fanning across a muscular build of another. Deep in their dreams, the light was unwelcomed by both as they tried to huddle closer to keep some darkness around them.

"Mmmm… Turn the sun off…." A feminine muffled voice said tiredly.

"Nnnn. Can't, babe… Too high up…." The mirrored tiredness replied in a deeper voice before they stirred, showing blue eyes groggy with sleep as he ruffled his blonde hair while yawning before he ran a hand down to brush aside the raven locks of his bed partner. "C'mon, love. Time to get up. Can't be late for the Games…"

"Nnn… Hisui will understand…" Came the reply as the person was revealed to be a female as she stretched like a cat would before her ruby red eyes gazed up at the blue orbs in grogginess.

"She will… Not so much the others. Can't be lazy, Nina… You know that."

Nina deflated with a soft whine. "I was so comfy, too." To prove her point, she nuzzled closer to the man. "My personal Sting pillow…" She was Nina Eucliffe, wife and mate to Sting Eucliffe, blood sister to Rogue Cheney, adoptive sister to Laxus Dreyer and adoptive granddaughter to Makarov Dreyer. On top of that she was the mother of six-year-old Miyuki and four-year-old Raza and First Guildmaster of Sabertail, the result of combining the two strongest guilds in Fiore together: Fairy Tail and Sabertooth.

That got a light-hearted chuckle. "Only yours, love. C'mon. Maybe we can crash on the vile train ride."

"Ugghhh… I guess." Nina yawned again before rolling out of the warm embrace she had previously been in to sit on the edge of the bed. She paused when she felt warm hands trace the scars on her back gently, a small smile growing on her face.

"Do these bother you?"

She shook her head. "No… I almost forgot I had them. I've moved on, but the memories are still going to be there for a long time, I know." Her mind went back to when she had gotten them: the Grand Magic Games of X791, back when Sabertooth and Fairy Tail were enemy guilds and Minerva was consumed by darkness. The main scar, from her left shoulder blade to the bottom of the right side of her ribcage was one of three remaining from her time in Minerva's magic world, where she had been tortured and attacked multiple times, leaving her scarred as she was now. Those memories still caused her some nightmares, but she had Sting and her family to keep those away. "Lisanna had said they would make good stories… Though, there are a few I'd rather not remember…"

Sting sat up at those words, worry on his face as he wrapped his arms around her softly. "That's understandable… Don't bring them up if they'll cause you any grief." He knew that one of the memories involved the darker Sabertooth, back when Jiemma was Guildmaster.

"They won't… Not as long as I've got you and everyone else to keep them away." She said, smiling and melting into the embrace.

"And I will make sure those memories stay buried." He said, kissing her mating mark lovingly. "Now that we're up, suppose we should get dressed?"

She laughed softly. "Yeah. I don't want to turn into Gray." Sliding out of the warmth of their bed, she went over to the dresser to bring out a gift from Minerva herself: a fit-and-flare knit dress features a contrast border print for effortless charm in her favorite grey coloring. She unzipped it and slipped it on, only realizing the zipper was on the back. "Mind lending a hand, love?"

Sting chuckled. "Off?"

"No, silly. On." She giggled when he helped zip it closed. "Thanks."

"Anything for my darling wife." He said, mock-bowing with his playful grin on his face.

"Oh, hush and get dressed." She scolded, putting on some tights and her black flats. Heading to the mirror, she brushed the tangles out of her hair before braiding it to the side, tying it with the white ribbon Sting had bought her on their first date years ago. The pendant with her flower from Rogue was next to be put on. The flower rested between her breasts as she cupped it, remembering his promise to protect her from all those years ago. Now, he could keep that promise.

"Think too much and I might be in trouble." Sting joked, slipping his boxers and pants on before his socks and boots.

"You're trouble to begin with." She replied.

"True. But you wouldn't change a thing, right?"

"Not a thing." She giggled softly when she noticed that the only change her husband did to his attire over the years was adding under armor that covered his neck, but still left his abs exposed. "I'm so lucky most of the guild is married, least I deal with jealousy every day."

"I should say the same. Good thing the entire male population of the guild only see ya as a sister." He replied as he held the cape out. "For you, my dear."

"Why, thank you." She mock-bowed, putting the gray cloak on and exiting the room. As she walked towards the hall, her stomach couldn't help but flutter at how strong the guild was, despite their appearances towards others.

"Yo! Master!" Natsu said from his table, saluting her.

"Don't call me that. I might be the master, but I'm still Nina." She reminded.

"Yeah. Last one to call her that was Laxus." Gajeel agreed from his table with Levy and his family.

"And never again, right, Lax?" Nina teased.

"Yeah." He nodded as Cora climbed onto his shoulder.

"Auntie, are we leaving now?" She asked.

"Well, I suppose. We can't all be fashionably late, can we? Wendy, hope you cast Troia before we get on that blasted machine." She shuddered at the mention of the train.

"Will do. I hate it as much as you do." Wendy replied as the entire guild left, her casting Troia on the dragon slayers, including the other generation, not taking any risks with them developing it.

Lucy smiled at the motion. "Hard to believe you are the dragon slayers that defeated Acnologia, huh?"

Nina groaned as the spell wore off and the dragon slayers succumbed to their motion sickness. Thankfully it looked like the fourth and fifth generation were too young to suffer from the ailment. Miyuki and Raza stared at their parents with confusion while Cora and Nashi poked their fathers with their fingers and Stella merely looked lost at how her father was on the ground.

Yukino shook her head. "Lucy-chan, try not to tease them. Remember one is our guildmaster for a reason." She smiled when the younger generation poked at their parents without a care in the world. "It's nice that they haven't gained this condition."

"Perhaps they never will?" Levy suggested as her and Gajeel's brood poked at their father to her amusement. "But this is kind of adorable to watch."

Mira nodded in agreement. "Especially when it comes to Laxus and Natsu. Both are too tough to admit their one weakness: travel."

Gray smirked as his own daughter started poking Natsu. "I think you're forgetting a weakness, Mira… The other weakness is you women."

Lucy laughed. "That's true. We women can scare our men rather well, can't we?"

Yukino nodded along with Mira and Levy. "But, that's also their strength, too. If any of us are in serious danger, they'll never stop at anything but our safety."

Lucy nodded as Nashi and the other children decided to play for the rest of the train ride. "I can't wait to see Queen Hisui again. Perhaps she'll tell me how to use that spell we used years ago."

"You mean Godfried, right?" Yukino asked.

"Yeah. After all, we're stronger than before and perhaps can use it without help." Lucy said as the train rolled into Crocus. "We're here, guys... Time to crawl to land."

Nina whined as she crawled out of the train. "You... are enjoying... this, Lu-Lu..." She panted as she regained her stomach and feet before sighing. "Next time, we should see if we can borrow something friendlier towards us dragon slayers."

"Look who showed up."

Nina blinked before smirking. "Kagura. Or should I say Master Kagura?" She said with a grin.

"Never. I'm still the same person... Speaking, you've clearly changed since becoming Guildmaster, Nina." Kagura said.

"Really? I hope not. Besides the obvious, I'm still me." Nina said, rubbing her neck out of habit as she saw Blue Pegasus. "Hey, it's Blue Pegasus. Is everyone here?"

"Yeah. Lamia Scale and even Quatro Cerberus is here." Kagura informed. "You'll be surprised to hear that an 'old friend' is in this year."

"Old..." Nina tilted her head before sniffing the air. "What?! You mean to tell me Twilight Ogre is here? Why, I oughta..."

"They say their reformed and won't feud with you." Kagura stated, seeing the anger in Nina's eyes.

"Better not." She said, relaxing slightly. "Any others here?"

"Well, there's Orochi's Fin, who are the rivals to Lamia Scale, plus there's Phoenix Grave. And there's Mermaid Heel's sworn rival, Titan Nose." She said as they all made their way to their hotel. "Hope we have a great competition this year."

"You know we always bring the competition." Nina winked, waving their friend off. "Alright, so the rules are still the same, no staying out too late... Now, I gotta find Yajima and them to let them know of the team competing." She melted into the shadows and went to hunt down Yajima and Chapati Lola, whom she found talking to the other guildmasters. "Sorry for being late, fellows."

"Ahh, Shadow Mistress joins us now." Yajima joked. "Seems you fit into being a guildmaster just like old Makarov, eh?"

"You can say that."

"Here to give us your team? We're allowing two per guild to make the first rounds interesting." Chapati said.

"Oh? Well, Sabertail Team A will be: Rogue Cheney, Sting Eucliffe, Mirajane Dreyer, Erza Fernandez and Juvia Fullbuster." She knew this team was going to have fun. "As for Team B, it'll be probably our strongest team: Natsu Dragneel, Gray Fullbuster, Lucy Dragneel, Gajeel Redfox and Laxus Dreyer."

"You realize that most are married to their other teammate, right?" Kagura pointed out.

"We all know Natsu's mind: he goes all out, even if his friends are participating." Nina stated, sighing. "Besides, we'll get a more kick-ass team after we're allowed to dwindle down to one team."

"Alright, have a good rest. Tomorrow's going to be very interesting to say the least." Chapati said.

Nina nodded before heading to their hotel, where the guild was still up and waiting. "Ahh. Still up? Good. Got good news. The first round, we're all allowed two teams so, I picked probably the two greatest teams in our histories."

Cana looked up from her booze. "Well, tell us!"

She shook her head. "Team A is going to be Rogue, Sting, Mira, Erza and Juvia while Team B is Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Gajeel and Laxus."

"Seriously? You know Mira's expecting, right?" Laxus said.

"Mhm, but she wanted to show she's no pushover." She answered. "But if it gets too much, I have Wendy as backup."

"R-Really?" The Sky Dragon Slayer asked, clearly not expecting that.

"Of course. Now, get to bed. We have a long day ahead." She said, seeing them nod and head to their rooms before heading to hers with Sting.

"You sure about these teams?"

"Doubting me already, dear?" She teased, getting into her pajamas and watching her husband undress.

"Not at all. Just wondering if it might be overkill to have so many of us Dragon Slayers on these teams." He mentioned, crawling over her with a grin.

"Well, try and come up with two teams on the fly and see how you fair next time." She giggled, turning the light off in the same moment he pounced on her.

* * *

**Yay! Long chapter is done! Hope you like it!  
~~Kiwi~~**


	3. Grand Displays

**Love blooms in Sabertail, but more so between the dragon slayers inside. Nina Eucliffe, First Guildmaster of Sabertail, and her guild enter a new era together. And a new era brings new unknowns!**

**Grand Displays**

* * *

Nina rolled onto her stomach as she reached for the alarm clock, turning it off just seconds before it would've gone off. Yawning, she smiled slightly when she smelt her children's scents, pretending to be asleep as they pounced, jumping onto the bed and waking both her and Sting up. "We're up…" She yawned again.

"Everyone's waiting, Mama! I can't wait to see us win!" Miyuki said, a bright smile on her face while her brother bounced on their dad until he woke up.

"It's too early…" Sting groaned, blinking to see his hyper son smiling at him.

"Papa, up!" Raza said, bouncing again.

"Okay, okay. I'm up." He said picking the child up before he started bouncing again and tickling him.

Nina felt like she was going to explode whenever she saw him with any of the kids in the guild. When they had Miyuki, he was so afraid of doing something wrong, but now they both had the parent thing down. Making sure Miyuki was on Sting's side of the bed, she climbed out of the covers as Miyuki hugged her. "Better let them know we're up."

"Auntie Mira said you like sleeping in and that if you didn't get up that we could dump water on you." Miyuki informed.

"That was Uncle Natsu, sis." Raza corrected.

"Oh, yeah!"

"Oh, he did, did he?" Nina said sweetly as she got changed alongside Sting.

"Uh-huh. He said it would be funny. But I know better than to do that to Mama and Papa." Miyuki said as she and Raza led the way to where the guild was. "They're up! We didn't need the water, Uncle Natsu."

"Sssh! Don—"

"Salamander." Nina said slowly, a dark aura around her as she spoke.

"Y-y-yes?" He squeaked.

She stood toe-to-toe with him and didn't lessen her glare. "Need I remind you who is the Guild Master here? Or should I show you?"

"N-N-No need, Nina… I meant it as a joke." He said with a weak laugh.

"Oh, a joke? You find me being very angry funny, do you? I wonder how funny you'll find me when I make a train look like a joyride." She said, raising her eyebrow.

"Not at all! Sorry! Don't hurt me!" Natsu pleaded before looking to Sting. "Sting, buddy, pal, you've gotta save me."

"Not a chance, bud. I ain't gonna wind up on the couch for four months saving your butt." Sting shook his head and shrugged. "You're a big boy, aren't you? Surely you can't be afraid of her?"

Natsu began sweating. "You're saying that because you've married and mated her. Try seeing it from my eyes."

Nina gave a smile. "He knows how scary I can get, Natsu. You might want to remember this for your next 'joke', eh?"

"Y-yeah!" He whimpered as they made their way to the stadium, where the two teams separated so they could enter at different times.

Nina and the rest of the guild made their way to their designated area, her leaning on the railing. "This year we'll prove we haven't skimped out on training."

Lisanna giggled. "It's been a long time since we were in the Grand Magic Games, so, they might've forgotten we still exist."

That earned a mischievous glint to enter Nina's eyes. "Oh, they'll remember out power. And all that jewel will be ours." She grinned.

"Just like Makarov…" Macao sighed. "We're not here for the money, remember? We're here to show we're still a force."

"I know. That jewel is a nice trophy. We could help out our city with that money, after all." Nina said, staring at the sky from her position. "They've done so much for us in Sabertail, including welcoming Sabertooth into their folds, we owe them more than we can begin to count."

Cana smiled gently. "Well, there's that heart of yours. Was worried you might've forgotten it."

That made her pause and smile back. "I still have it… I'm not the little girl that wore her heart on her sleeve anymore."

"That's true…" Makarov agreed. "You've grown into an independent, strong, loyal and loving woman before my eyes and it makes me happy to have been able to see that."

"Today's a wonderful day as we begin the X812 Grand Magic Games! I am Chapati Lola, joined, as always, by Mr. Yajima. It is my honor to welcome our guest for today's events, Queen Hisui! Your Majesty, it is a great honor to be with you today."

Hisui laughed a little. "It's strange to hear that still. I hope that the participants enjoy these events, as I quite enjoyed coming up with them. I will say that some might be a 'blast from the past' for some of the guilds."

"Interesting." Yajima commented. "And we randomized the events this year, so we ourselves won't know until their announced."

"Correct. So, let's get started by introducing the first event. Please turn your attention to the Lacrimatrons for this." Chapati stated as there were seven events on screen before they were randomized. "Today's event is… Wow, Sky Labyrinth! This always proves to narrow down the teams, so let's start."

"Ahh, memories." Nina giggled. "I wasn't in for this event, so now I get to see what it involves."

"It was amazing when we did it in the past." Cana informed. "Somehow, we might do even better this time around."

"Maybe. Don't forget that we have to be careful with Twilight Ogre being involved." Nina replied.

Minerva raised her eyebrow. "Sounds like you have a history with them."

Nina clinched her fists as she went back to when Team Tenrou reemerged from their seven year 'sleep'. "They came after Fairy Tail while our main fighters were trapped on Tenrou for seven years, building debts, breaking our property and going as far as attacking our friends. Us on Tenrou couldn't do a damned thing for seven years as this happened. The moment we came back, they were back to 'collect' and were about to destroy our old guild hall when we showed up and kicked them out." She glared at where the guild was stationed, on the opposite end of the stadium for the reason of the bitter blood between them and the members of Fairy Tail. "I would keep an eye on them." She nodded to Freed and Warren as they watched Sky Labyrinth take place.

"Maybe they truly have changed, Nina." Yukino said, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Maybe. Can't be too careful around them…" She added, memories of seeing the terror on her family's faces making her mentally shudder. Her nose picked up the scents of those that made it and made her relax a lot

"And we have our winners! Our eight teams have been decided!" Chapati said to cheers. "In Eighth place, its… Wow! Team Twilight Ogre! In Seventh place is Team Mermaid Heel. Team Blue Pegasus takes sixth place with Lamia Scale inching into fifth. Fourth place belongs to Quatro Cerberus and third goes to Team Velvet Bones, who are a brand-new guild to the Grand Magic Games." He announced, the teams entering the stadium. "And our top two spots belong to a rather potent guild: Team Sabertail A and Team Sabertail B, taking first and second respectively."

"Well, this is not surprising." Yajima said with a laugh. "I guess they want to show they are taking this seriously this time around. Nice work, Nina!"

The guild laughed at the sheer shock of the other teams as Nina grinned before she looked to Rufus. "Have you heard of Velvet Bones, Rufus?"

"I have no memory of a guild, but I have kept tabs on new guilds that have been created in the years since the war with Acnologia. Velvet Bones is not as known as our friends, but they are no push-overs. The guild master's name is Shiva Onyx, who is a master of Darkness Magic. She has a nickname of…"

"The Darkness Heart." Nina finished, her eyes landing on the woman. "She is definitely not a weakling. Me and Rogue might be masters of Shadows, but Darkness envelopes even shadow magic… Interesting…"

Yukino frowned. "I thought shadows and darkness were the same?"

"Not true." Freed said. "Darkness is more potent and can engulf shadows. Darkness magic is an ancient kind of magic that has no weakness known. Shadow magic, however, has flaws that can be used against it. Darkness magic casters are unaffected by nightmares and thrive at nighttime. We know shadow magic is limited to only shadows cast by any object or person."

Nina nodded. "In other words, mine and Rogue's Shadow Dragon Magic is but a sliver compared to her Darkness Magic."

Bickslow frowned. "It might be a good thing that guild masters are banned from entering."

Wakaba and Macao both nodded as Macao spoke. "Not that it wouldn't be an interesting fight."

Nina smiled softly. "Even if it were allowed, I wouldn't stand a chance against her. I feel her power from up here and it's scary. I'd be lucky if I even land a blow. But time will tell. For now, it's time to focus on the Games rather than impossible fights."

"Now, we'll announce the lineups of matches! Sabertail Team A will go against Team Lamia Scale, Sabertail Team B will duke it out with Team Twilight Ogre, Team Mermaid Heel will face off against Team Velvet Bones and Team Quatro Cerberus will go against Team Blue Pegasus!" Chapati said before looking to Hisui. "And I believe Your Majesty has an announcement that involves day three?"

"Yes, I have decided to add a new event that will be announced the day before. It'll stand to show the strength of our guilds." She said.

"Well, hope you are all ready for that announcement. I certainly can't wait! Would the competitors please exit the arena and decide your one participant for tomorrow's event. Tomorrow starts off the chaos that is the X812 Grand Magic Games!"

Nina and the guild reunited with their two teams as they made their way to their hotel. "For Team A, I would choose wisely. We know Lyon might be involved in either the fight or the event. Team B, the same could be said. Just remember to keep that anger on the back burners for now. Twilight Ogre may have changed and we would be hypocrites if we attacked them based on the old Twilight Ogre's actions." She informed, seeing Natsu's anger. "Natsu, that means keep it cool. You can't go swinging fists for something they may regret doing. I know the anger, but we need calmer heads right now."

"But, Nina... They defaced the old Fairy Tail hall and hurt our friends while we were on Tenrou." Natsu said, flames erupting from his fists. "I want to remind them of that pain."

"No, Natsu. Believe me, I feel the same way, but it's in the past. The past needs to remain there." She met his glare with a unreadable expression. "We need to move passed it. Do that for me, Natsu. Otherwise, we go against who we are now." Her expression shifted slightly as she looked ahead. "If you are so keen on living in the past, do you want revenge on those that you call family now?"

That made the fire wizard pause and the flames go away. "No. You're right. I just can't get the faces out of my head of that day."

"Neither can I..." She agreed as she stopped upon smelling a different scent. "I hope it's my nose acting up..."

"Nope. I can smell it too." Natsu pointed out as the Dragon Slayers all looked in the direction of who was behind the scent: Shiva Onyx.

* * *

**Oh, boy. What could be her deal?! I'll give you a rundown of Velvet Bones.**

**Guild Name: Velvet Bones**  
**Guild Master: Shiva Onyx**  
**Prominent Members: Shiva Onyx, Rena Taipei, Khan Lothario, Halley Fez, Mai Taipei and Lucius Yabolino.**  
**Location: Onibus Town**

**Shiva Onyx, as mentioned, is a Darkness wizard and has control over anything dark or shadow, thus making Rogue and Nina's magic ineffective against her. Darkness magic is an ancient type that, as Freed stated, has no known weakness. Her guild, Velvet Bones, is a neutral type of guild, not too terrible and not too good and are one of two guilds located in Onibus Town, the other being Shields of Serenity.**


	4. Potential Alliance?

**Love blooms in Sabertail, but more so between the dragon slayers inside. Nina Eucliffe, First Guildmaster of Sabertail, and her guild enter a new era together. And a new era brings new unknowns!**

**Potential Alliance?**

* * *

Nina stood with an unreadable expression, as did her fellow Dragon Slayers, at the woman in front of them.

The woman's ice blue gaze scanned each of them from head-to-toe as a gentle breeze made her brown locks move gently from the ponytail on top of her head. Her yellow coat was parted over her mid-drift, where her purple guild mark was located. A pale pink turtleneck shirt and blue jeans were her clothing choice and on her feet were brown heeled boots. When she spoke, it was with an odd sense of curiosity. "I believe we never met… My name is Shiva Onyx, Guild Master of Velvet Bones… Allow me the pleasure of knowing your name?"

Nina remembered she had a voice and shook out of her little trance. "My name's Nina Eucliffe, Guild Master of Sabertail. What do I owe this visit?"

Shiva's lip quirked up slightly. "I was merely curious as to who my opponents are. I heard tales of your guild being the most powerful, yet the kindest, guild in Fiore. Perhaps the tales of Fairy Tail alone made me quite thrilled to meet you. I was intrigued when I heard that Sabertooth and Fairy Tail had merged." She then looked at the others. "And who are your followers?" That made the others break out of their own trance as they introduced themselves.

"Name's Natsu Dragneel…"

"I'm Gajeel Redfox… Remember it."

"My name's Wendy Marvell… A pleasure…"

"I'm Laxus Dreyer, and, no, I don't do autographs."

"I'm Rogue Cheney and I have to say, it's nice to meet you."

"And I'm Sting Eucliffe. You're not as scary as they make you out to be."

"Ahh… I think my reputation precedes me. I believe you are all Dragon Slayers, correct?" She got a nod and she turned thoughtful. "It is quite rare to see so many in one guild… But that might be part of your power, correct? I seemed to have trailed off. I wanted to see if you would like to make an alliance. My guild is only in the Games to get more job offers; you see. We will bow out in the final round if you wouldn't mind spreading word of Velvet Bones… At no cost, of course. I see why the other guilds have a friendly rivalry with you." She lifted out her hand. "I am aware of the history between you and those in Twilight Ogre… I have a spy in their guild and I can assure you, they are up to no good. Perhaps with us two on their case, they'll turn over…"

Nina was shocked to learn that their hated enemy was still trying tricks behind the officials' backs. She sighed in relief and knew Shiva wasn't lying, her scent was too open to be lying. "Thank you. I think it might prove very nice to at least show some fight later on, don't you?"

That made Shiva laugh softly. "Indeed. You are very perceptive despite being very young. Now, I must bid you goodbye. As my guild says, 'May the night comfort your bones'." She turned and walked away, almost vanishing from sight after a few moments.

"…" Nina stared at where the woman had been.

"Hey… Nina?" Natsu asked, getting her attention.

"Huh?"

"Do ya believe her? Like, really believe her?"

She sighed. "Natsu. She wasn't lying. You know it. Her scent would've given her away and you know it. For now, we need to trust her. If she's right, Twilight Ogre might pull a Raven Tail and try some underhanded tricks."

Laxus nodded. "Should we let the others know?"

Wendy frowned and looked to the ground. "I don't think we should…"

Nina looked to the younger Dragon Slayer. "Why, Wendy?"

"They might overreact." Gajeel pointed out. "If Salamander can keep his mouth shut, we'll be fine."

"Hey, I can keep secrets."

Nina gave a smirk. "Reaaaaally? I believe you might tell a certain blonde celestial mage…" That made the Fire Dragon Slayer turn beet red and look away, to the amusement of the others as Nina nodded. "Alright, we'll keep it between us. For now, let's just enjoy the Games." She led the way to their hotel, her mind whirling with all the information she just learned from Shiva, thinking everything through and finding no falsehoods in anything. She was so into her thoughts that she didn't notice Hisui in front of her until Rogue caught her shoulder before she slammed into the Queen. "Oh. Sorry, Hisui… Or, Your Majesty."

"Please, just Hisui. We are friends." She said with a smile. "I was just looking for you, Nina."

"What happened now?" She worried that the guild might've destroyed the hotel block in celebration.

"Nothing bad, I assure you! I just got done talking to the other guilds, as well as the organizers of the Games. We all agree to hold a 'Junior Grand Magic Games' for one day. So, the newer generation of mages can show their skills." Hisui giggled at their confused looks. "In other words, a child-version of the actual Games. Only ten can enter, though."

Natsu brightened and grinned. "Sweeet! That means the kids get to have fun! Man, Nashi'll never get to bed tonight."

"Nashi?" Hisui looked confused at the name.

Nina laughed at her expression. "Nashi is Natsu and Lucy's daughter."

"You mean Lucy actually… huh. Interesting. Well, tomorrow will be when it takes place…" Hisui left with a thoughtful expression, as well as a grin.

Natsu blinked before shaking his head. "Well, let's head back… Everyone'll be so happy to hear that the kids get to have fun."

"Ya think? They've been itching to join since they found out." Gajeel taunted. "Especially Tali."

"Even Miyuki's wanting to join." Sting agreed as they walked into the hotel lobby to see, true to their nature, the guild was celebrating their victory.

Cana looked their way and grinned. "They're baaaack~ And so is our awesoooome Master!"

Nina shook her head. "Cana, relax. You have days to drink." She went to the nearby bar, where Mira was sitting with Cora. "Hey, Mira. Everything's still in one piece."

Mira laughed. "Yes. Even though Nashi and Mika were butting heads the entire time, there's no damage."

Nina looked to Natsu with a raised eyebrow. "Well, there's no doubt Nashi takes after you. Great... The feud between you and Gray has now moved into the next generation." She took the drink offered and sipped it before blinking. "Oh! There's something I need to tell everyone. We ran into Queen Hisui and she told us that there is going to be a full day for the kids to show off their powers and let them have some fun, too. She called it the 'Junior Grand Magic Games'. I have no idea if they will gain or lose points for the guild, but either way it'll be fun."

Mira blinked. "Well, is there a limit on how many can enter?"

"Yeah. Only ten can enter per guild. So, I'll need to leave early to tell Chapati of my choices. Speaking..." She turned thoughtful as she gazed across the hall at all the eager faces of the younger generation, waiting for her choices. "Well, let's go with... Nashi, Tali, Cora, Mika, Dyana, Asuka, Stella, Miyuki, Rena and Grace... It'll let us also see which magic is stronger in them..."

Miyuki beamed a Nina-like grin at her mother. "I'll do my best, Mama!" She looked to her cousin Stella and Cora. "We should try hard!"

Cora grinned like a mini-Laxus. "Naturally."

Nina burst out laughing at how the kids mirrored the attitude of their parents, getting thrown back in time to when they were children themselves. Even the adults joined in the laughter. It was something that made their bonds even stronger as they made their ways to their rooms, Nina shaking her head at how energetic Miyuki was now with the announcement. "Alright, alright. Time for bed. The faster you get to bed, the quicker tomorrow will come."

Miyuki and Raza nodded at that, Nina tucking in Miyuki and Sting doing the same to Raza. "Night, Mama and Papa..." She said sleepily as she joined her brother in dreamland.

She smiled lovingly and went to the door, where Sting waited with his own grin. "Sweet dreams, both of you..." She closed their door and went to the room she shared with her husband. "Tomorrow's going to be very fun, that's for sure. Between the new generation of Dragon Slayers showing us their power, there are others that might come out."

"That's true. Raza will probably be Miyuki's cheerleader the entire day and even afterwards." He stated as he stripped down to just his underwear before reclining on the bed to watch her.

"As if he wasn't already, you mean? I figured why keep the fun to the adults and apparently Hisui felt the same. I just wonder what kind of thing she'll be doing." She turned thoughtful before shaking her head and climbing in beside her husband, reclining on the pillow and reaching for the book that was her favorite: Dragons And Heirs by Zaka Stodles. She had read the first book by Zaka way back before she even met Sting and Zaka was really informed about dragons, Dragon Slayers and their habits. It was Zaka's information that gave Nina the edge over the other Dragon Slayers when it came time for the 'mating' season. This book kept up with the different lifestyles of a dragon and/or a Dragon Slayer when they were 'fully matured'.

"I don't think I've ever seen you without one of these books in your face." Sting chuckled, pulling her into his arms.

"You know I can't help it." She pouted. "Zaka really gets the habits and stuff down between dragons and us Dragon Slayers. How else did you expect me to know so much compared to Gajeel and even Rogue?"

"I figured Skiadrium taught you something, but then I realized you probably didn't understand that stuff any more than I did." He said, resting his chin on her shoulder and looking at the book.

She giggled lightly at how true that was. When she and Rogue were children, they barely paid attention to their father whenever the talk about sex came up. "It's a good thing I know so much now, isn't it?" She teased.

"Damn straight. You're like the wisest out of all of us, Gajeel's definitely the most stubborn, Natsu's, well, the hot-head, Rogue's more reserved, I'm all ego and Wendy's the kindest." Sting said. "Though, I can say Laxus is the one you don't want to piss off. Even now, he scares me and it's been years."

Nina nodded and finished up the chapter, putting her marker in and returning it to the nightstand. "That's his way of keeping you on your toes. He actually does trust ya more than he lets on." She found it hilarious that Laxus always made Sting terrified whenever he even glanced his way, despite knowing that there was no way Sting would ever hurt her.

* * *

**Yay! Time for showing off the kids' powers. At the end, I will explain how they got their magic besides the obvious one being any children Bisca and Alzack have.  
~~Kiwi~~**


End file.
